Health Testing and Vet Checks: Two Views of a Dog
health testing vs vet check
Two useful kinds of information, with the dog at the heart of both.
“Health checked” can sound wonderfully reassuring when you are learning about a dog. The useful next question is what was checked. A veterinary visit considers the individual dog’s history and current findings; inherited-health screening of prospective parents asks different questions about what may run through a family.
Both can contribute information. Neither replaces the other, and neither guarantees a puppy’s future health. The actual reports tell you what each assessment found and which dog it concerned.
Let’s work through the two kinds of information in turn: what a veterinary check can tell us about the dog now, and what family screening asks about inherited conditions. We’ll also explain the CHIC number and bring the records together without confusing a parent’s result with the puppy’s own examination.
A NOTE FROM WATERSEDGE
We read the research, we talk to people who do this work, and we try to make complicated animal-health information easier to understand. What you're reading reflects how we've interpreted and organized what we found. It is educational, not veterinary advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan for your animal.
We're not perfect, and neither is the available research. Evidence changes, new work gets published, and what suits one animal may be wrong for another. Species, breed, age, weight and existing conditions all change the answer.
Use this as a starting point for your own reading and for the conversation with your veterinarian, particularly if your animal is on medication, is under treatment, has an existing condition, is pregnant, very young or very old, or if anything about their condition is changing quickly.
01 / Let’s start with the dog’s veterinary check
Let’s start with the dog’s veterinary check
A veterinary check begins with the animal in front of the team, including the ordinary changes you notice at home. Your knowledge of meals, walks and familiar movements can be part of a valuable clinical conversation. The American Animal Hospital Association’s (AAHA) senior-care guidance asks about eating, movement and the home environment. Videos owners already have can also help the veterinary team understand how an animal moves at home. That example concerns senior animals, not one examination protocol for every dog.
A veterinarian may recommend further tests depending on the dog’s history and findings. A puppy’s pre-departure examination and a senior dog’s assessment therefore need not involve identical procedures.
The puppy’s report can record what was examined and found at that time. It cannot certify both parents’ inherited-health status or rule out every later problem. “What do we know now?” is a useful question; “Is this dog guaranteed?” asks more than an examination can offer.
02 / Family screening asks another question
Family screening asks another question
Family screening looks beyond today’s examination to questions about what can be inherited. In the AKC’s 2024 explanation, veterinarian Greg Burns describes breeding-health testing as breed-specific assessment of prospective parents intended to reduce inherited disorders in offspring. It may involve DNA tests, specialist examinations or imaging, depending on the breed and the methods available.
Each method sees something different:
- A DNA test looks for named genetic variants. A negative result applies to the particular variants tested, not every inherited condition.
- An eye examination or joint image assesses the dog in another way. It does not automatically report whether a particular genetic variant is present.
- The puppy’s examination concerns that puppy. It does not replace the parents’ records.
The Irish Water Spaniel Club of America’s 2023 CHIC explanation illustrates the variety: its protocol included hip and elbow images, a specialist eye examination and an advanced heart examination. That was a particular breed protocol at that time, not a checklist for all dogs.
A new DNA test may answer an important question without covering every inherited disease. UC Davis’s 2024 announcement concerned a likely cause of one form of progressive retinal atrophy, an inherited eye disease, in racing Greyhounds. The announcement left unanswered how the variant affects females who carry one copy. It did not claim that every inherited eye question had been answered.
03 / CHIC records completion, not perfect results
CHIC records completion, not perfect results
Public screening records give families something they can follow. The Irish Water Spaniel club explains that a Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) number, issued through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), records completion of required screening and public disclosure of the results. It does not mean every result was normal.
The numbers are permanent and reflect requirements when generated. Tests and findings may therefore need further explanation even when a dog has a CHIC number. Completing the screening does not tell you whether the results were normal.
Read the record with these details together:
- The identity of the dog tested.
- The specific assessment and its result.
- The examination date and the dog’s age.
- The relevant breed or screening-program requirements.
Dates matter because some reports identify an inherited variant, while others describe an examination at a stage of the animal’s life. This does not mean every test needs the same repeat schedule. Ask the veterinarian or screening organization whether that particular assessment needs to be repeated and when.
04 / Bring the records back to the animal
Bring the records back to the animal
Now that the records are clearer, let’s connect them to the dog and the questions you actually have. A long DNA panel is not automatically more useful than a shorter, relevant set of assessments. What matters is whether the breed’s concerns and the needed methods are covered.
Before the appointment, put the parent screening reports and the dog’s own clinical records in separate, clearly named sections. Add a short list of changes you have noticed at home. It lets the veterinarian connect inherited-risk questions with today’s animal without mistaking a parent’s report for an examination of the dog beside you.
If you are considering a puppy, separate its own examination and medical history from the parents’ breed-relevant screening. Bring both to the veterinarian who will care for it and ask what each contributes.
For a dog already at home, family records provide background. Tell the veterinary team about changes in your dog’s movement, appetite, behavior or comfort, even if the family’s screening results were normal. Which explanation helped you understand the difference between an examination and a screening result, and which phrase still leaves you uncertain?
KEEP EXPLORING
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Research details
AAHA identifies Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, CareCredit, IDEXX, and Zoetis as supporters of these guidelines. The AAHA example applies to senior dogs and cats and is used to illustrate the importance of history and examination, not to prescribe a visit schedule for every dog. The UC Davis 2024 announcement concerns one form of PRA in racing Greyhounds; it was issued pre-publication of the researchers’ findings and identifies an unresolved question about heterozygous females. It is used to demonstrate the scope of a test, not to generalize a disease interpretation across breeds. CHIC interpretation and the specifically labeled 2023 Irish Water Spaniel protocol come from original partner-club reporting; they are not presented as a current universal testing schedule.
Sources
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Maharaj, Nandini. “What Is Health Testing for Dogs?” American Kennel Club, June 6, 2024; updated June 11, 2024. Includes named comments from Greg Burns, DVM, Colorado State University.
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American Animal Hospital Association. “Evaluating the Healthy Senior Pet.” Published December 13, 2022 as part of the 2023 AAHA Senior Care Guidelines.
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Gershony, Liza. “New Test Available: X-Linked Progressive Retinal Atrophy in Greyhounds.” UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, August 12, 2024.
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Krohne, Sheryl, and Dana Louttit. “CHIC – What is it and how is it used?” Rat Tails, official Irish Water Spaniel Club of America newsletter, Fall/Winter 2023, pages 17–18. Original club explanation accompanying the breed’s March 2023 cardiac-screening change; its listed protocol is a 2023 Irish Water Spaniel example.
Photo credits
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Photo: Patience Garton, via Pexels. Photo source · Pexels License.
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